Chapter 2

Charles didn't let go of Liza's hand the entire, thankfully short, walk back to the hotel. Neither said anything on the walk, both afraid that they would say something that would bring them back to reality and ruin the moment. Instead, Liza entwined her fingers with Charles' and squeezed his fingers gently, almost as if she was trying to reassure him that this is what she wanted. Meanwhile, her mind was racing. She knew she needed to tell him the truth. That she shouldn't cross that line with him until he knew the real Liza Miller. She didn't want to mislead him, anymore that she already had.

Would he still want her when he found out that she was 40, divorced, and a mother to a 19-year-old college student? Would he want to be with her, despite the lie? Or was he attracted to the 26-year-old Liza, the assistant, the millennial?

Charles could almost feel her thinking as they rounded the corner to their hallway. Their rooms were next door to each other. Diana was thankfully checked into a 5-star hotel down the street, and he was sure Kelsey, who was rooming with Liza, was still out partying with her new boyfriend, Colin. Charles could feel his heart beating and could feel his blood pumping to the southern regions of his body. He wanted this, wanted her, so badly. How many times his mind had wandered over the past months to being with Liza. He had had far too many cold showers in the past few months than he cared to ever admit to anyone. His mind had often wandered into daydreams of her waking up next to him at the brownstone, making breakfast with the girls, taking them to the park. He had imagined a whole life for them. He loved her; he couldn't deny it. But would she want a life with a man almost 20 years her senior? Would she want to become a stepmother to two young girls? He didn't know any of the answers to these questions, but he knew he wanted to be with her.

They paused outside Liza's room. As Liza fiddled with her room key, she turned to Charles, smiling. God, he thought, she was so beautiful. She just radiated joy.

"So," she said, "That was unexpected."

Charles cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah, I didn't know that Berlin was still together."

Liza laughed as she turned slightly to open the door to her room. She turned to face him, bracing for what she knew was going to come next. "Yeah, it must have been a one night only kind of thing."

She turned to face him in the doorway. She didn't thing she could ever get over how handsome he was. So tall, so imposing, but he had this shy, boyish charm to him that endeared him to her so much. She would never have thought that a man as incredible and important as him would ever be attracted to her.

"Oh," he said, rocking back and forth on his heels, "I sure hope not." He leaned forward, his eyes sliding down her body, those long legs, and back up again. Stepping forward, he leaned down and took her lips in his. He couldn't get enough of her. She smelled faintly of coconut and vanilla, and as he felt her grab onto his suit jacket and pull him closer, he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a deep embrace.

Liza was surprised by the ferociousness of Charles' kiss, but she let herself fall into it. She let one hand slip around him and over his back, into his hair, as her other hand slipped inside his suit jacket and against his shirt. She rested it on his abs, feeling how taught they felt under her. She had hardly ever seen him in anything other than one of his impeccable 3-piece suits, and she imagined that what lied underneath was also impeccable. As he shifted to pull her closer, she felt his arousal press up against her leg. Her blood was pumping so fast she could almost hear it. He pulled away from her lips and trailed kisses up her cheek to her ear and landed his mouth on her neck, planning kisses from the collar of her dress up her long, graceful neck.

Liza pulled him into her room and heard him kick the door shut as he moved back to kissing her. She opened her mouth to him and playfully tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth as they backed into the bedroom area. She reached up and slid his suit jacket onto the floor, her hands raking across his back.

Charles spun her around and slowly ran his hands from her hips up her sides, grazing slightly across her chest. He moved her long, wavy hair to one side of her head and leaned down and kissed her gently on the neck.

"I've wanted this for so long," He whispered, his breath hot on her neck. He felt her shiver, almost imperceptibly, and reached up to slowly pull down the zipper to her dress, kissing her neck as he did so. He felt her press back up against him and could feel the blood run to his groin as he grew harder by the second. If he wasn't careful, this was going to be over before it barely started.

Liza closed her eyes and felt a wave of guilt wash over her, even as she was becoming more turned on by the second. God, how she wanted to be with this man. But her conscious was screaming at her to stop before it was too late, and to tell him the truth.

She could feel his hands moving up to slide her dress off, so Liza turned around to face him. His eyes were dark with desire, and his face had a look on it that she had never seen before. Passion or lust or just raw desire, or a heady combination of all three. She reached up and rested her hands on his shoulders as his grabbed ahold her waist. Liza leaned up and kissed him softly.

"Charles," she whispered, "Before this goes any further, I need to tell you something. I haven't been honest with you."